Tonight's game

And as for Rudy Seanez, since April 19 (including last night) he has a 1.99 ERA (5 ER/22.2 IP), the second best mark among all Dodger relievers not named Takashi Saito (that includes Broxton and Billingsley). He has, in fact, allowed the most inherited runners to score (6) but he’s also inherited more than all but two other relievers, so it’s not exactly fair to only cite the number of runners scored. For example, Billingsley has only allowed four inherited runners to score but he’s only inherited six of them (67 percent).

As long as we’re talking inherited runners, Joe Beimel has been unreal in that area. Only 2 of his 21 runners have scored (9.5 percent), the seventh-best mark in the league. He’s also now appeared in 30 games, more than any other lefty in the big leagues besides Tyler Johnson.

Wow, thanks for answering my question earlier today Josh, it’s nice to see the head blogger chime in and set the record straight. He’s right, it’s not fair to just look at inherited runs either as some obviously inherit more than others. I guess that I always see Seanez during his shakier outings as I don’t get to watch every game (which has probably led me to believe that he’s doing worse than he actually is). That said however it looks like Beimel might have been the better choice to jump in after Schmidt as Beimel has been unreal. Hindsight is always 20-20 though.

I feel the need to chime in on the Pierre issue. I was at last nights game and it was embarrassing to watch him flail away and hit pathetic fly balls-that is of course until he hit his one ground ball with a RISP (on the 1rst pitch). I think it will be difficult to take watching him play for the next 4 1/2 years. I agree with some of yesterday’s posts that suggest recalling Kemp and playing him in lieu of Pierre, but the 9mil a year Pierre gets, means we won’t see that. I am afraid we are stuck with him. I would like to see Abreu move up to the 2 hole, have Furcal lead off and drop Pierre 8th. maybe that will light a fire under him.

carcyn… my College Coach used the same set up in his line ups and i always thought it was great. I alway wondered why MLB teams never did that. 80 percent of the time, their bottom of the line up would be empty because they didn’t go with that route

MLB teams don’t do that because its not a good strategy. I would rather have all of my better hitters batting back to back. You might not threaten to score runs every inning but you have the potential to explode for big innings when the best hitters are hitting one right after the other.

Sounds like the softball bat debate…balanced v. end-loaded. I feel like others who want the best batters at the top of the order so they get the most ABs and there’s a chance to explode for some runs. Right now, that does not include Nomar or Kent or Pierre.

Maybe the “do nothing” solution during this 2,3,4 drought is because they think it can’t get any worse, so it can only get better…lol.

Either way, LET’S GO DODGERS and get back 1st. And yes…someone tell Pierre it’s ok to walk – or at least see more than 7 pitches in total for 4 ABs.

MARTIN is not only doing a great job behind the plate and at the left side of the plate, where the right hand batter stands, he also put on a one man show at first base in the 7th inning,last night, the likes that you very seldom see from a catcher.

Used to be that you could fine batters for certain repeated missteps like batting it in the air when you’re a speed guy that needs to hit it on the ground, or if you didn’t take a certain number of pitches in certain situations. I know that this is probably no longer practiced, since we got the “millions of dollars” players and egos became all-important. Egos, of course, have everything to do with managers being reluctant to change their batting orders so as not to “slight” the sensitive veterans. When you have a hot and consistent hitter like Martin, you have to wonder what difference it could make if he batted higher up and was at bat an extra time each game.

1) Oh the story of Jeff Kent’s fluctuating luck (don’t say that one five times fast in front of your parents!). In April, Kent hit .319/.393/.457, but that was fueled by a very high .347 average on balls hit into play. In may, he hit more out of the park, but his average on balls in play dropped way down to .194, and in the last 28 days, he has hit just .158 on balls in play (source:Baseball-Reference.com). Kent’s luck is certainly due to change sometime, and if he can sustain his power, he can prove to be quite useful at the plate.

2) Kent’s defense is another story. It’s never been great, but he’s posting a rate2 of 84 (100 is average)and a fielding average of .963 (compared to .983 for the league average), and it’s not that hard to imagine that maybe the guy needs to sit a little more, and maybe see how Abreu handles the middle infield a little more.

3) Juan Pierre, as Alex rightly pointed out and as I’ve mentioned before, is historically a second half player. I don’t know why that is, but that is the same case with Furcal. It makes sense then to see if Pierre underperforms then, rather than simply now. It would help a lot though if he kept the ball on the ground.

4) Nomar has been really good this year at hitting with runners in scoring position, at an astounding .458 clip. Nomar has gotten a hit half the time on balls in play with RISP. I don’t know if Pierre or Furcal steal signs for him, but that is a very very high number which I would not expect him to keep up, particularly as it is fueled by a .500 BABIP, and nearly all of those hits have been singles. Now, if I’m wrong and Nomar is just good enough to hit well with RISP all the time, then we just need a hypnotist to cause him to think there are always runners in scoring position.

5) With all the pessimism, I should add on a positive note that Ethier has recently picked things up, and his OPS for the last two weeks is over .800. If he can do that and walk more as well (only one walk in the last two weeks, the Dodgers will have someone else besides Martin to carry the team.

If the players do read this, then I hope they know we still all bleed blue. But that doesn’t mean we’re wearing those PR rose-colored glasses. Its just a fact – when you’re struggling, you’re struggling. If was struggling, I’d WANT the hot hitters batting in the spots to make us win. I sure hope these “club house” guys don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not saying change every game, but a slump over the course of a month is enough to justify a switch.

I bet any bruised egos wouldn’t hurt so much if we went on a 9 game winning streak with a new line-up.

It does seem kinda weird to sort the players by OB% and see how opposite it looks from our normal line-up. Although, our starters range from .388 (Martin) to .298 (Pierre), so maybe that’s not considered much of a difference.

Great points PA I really missed them thx for bringing them back. PierreEMW the Multimillion dollar players do not sit with laptops in the dugout hindging on our thoughts. Josh pointed that out a couple weeks ago when it was brought up.

I have an intresting observation with all the Loney trade talks going and with nomars powershortage. Jones has been playing a bit of 1st base this season in Vegas and my thought on this is that if Loney were to go in trade packaged up with some baggage that Jones becomes the Power hitting 1B we have been trying to get Loney to be.In this mythical trade we get a 3B with some power Miggy? Abreu gets to Rest Kent for the longhaul and we clear 3 spots on the 40man roster for 3rd on the 25 Jones to the 40 and Braz/Tsao back from D/L. If Nomar goes D/L we have Kent and Jones to play 1st.I know Jones has no numbers at this level but he has sock and huge run production right now in our system.

The thing I’m concerned about with Nomar in the #3 spot is that since May 1st, he’s has exactly 2 extra-base hits. Yes, a single still gets an RBI just as good as a double, but a double or HR does more damage. The #3 hitter should be leading one of the major stats, like, oh I don’t know…

Martin’s team best .505 SLG%

Or Martin’s team best .314 AVG

Or Martin’s team best .388 OB%

Or Martin’s team best 38 RBIs

And yes, I know the standard arguement – RISP (AVG/OB%):

Nomar .456/.500 v. Martin .377/.439

But c’mon, one stat based on 57 ABs to 53 is good enough to override the whole seaon’s 214 v. 194 ABs?

I mean, for all this campaigning for voting for him to be an All-Star, why does he not get a vote from management to actually bat in a spot where the best hitters on your team normally bat? Is there one other team who bat’s their team’s best bat 6th?

But maybe Martin is requesting to bat 6th. If that’s the case, why not just come out and say it so we can all end this debate. Once again..GO BLUE!

fisher928@yahoo.com | June 6, 2007 05:58 PM:
Do not be swayed by Mitch Jones AAA power. He will be 30 by the time the playoffs get here, has never hit .270 in the minors, strikes out a ton (well into the 100s most seasons) and walks too little (usually 50-60 times). There’s a reason he’s barely gotten a sniff even in Spring Training games.

That said, I’d love to see the career minor-leaguer get a cup of coffee with a September callup and hit a big bleacher bomb in some meaningless game after the Dodgers have clinched the pennant.

One loss can really cause a lot of consternation, espescially when the line-up gets posted. But let’s make sure we’re discussing this based on the same set of facts.

First, Gonzo. I love Matt Kemp, and am very much looking forward to the day that he becomes a starting outfielder (and the 15 years, 12 All-Star appearances, and 3 MVP awards that will follow). But Gonzo has an OPS over .800, and over the last ten games is htting .315. If you told me in December that he would be doing this, I’d be pleased as punch, and there’s no guarantee that Kemp would best that were he playing instead this year (I believe in the long-term, but he’s still young).

As for Nomar–I don’t know what to say. You can’t complain about the guy with the second best clutch average in baseball. That’s what you want in your number 3 hitter.

Now, putting aside the personnel debate for the moment (because I know that there are plenty of people who would like to see an infield of Loney, Abreu, Furcal, and LaRoche), when you have a player like Jeff Kent or Nomar Garciaparra, both of whom are healthy, you can usually assume a regression to the mean. In other words, unless Kent is just plain done at 39–and given that he had a great April and even first half of May, it seems unlikely–you can figure he is going to hit like the Jeff Kent we know. Now, who would you have hit clean-up–the HOFer Jeff Kent, or Russel Martin? As much as we love Martin, and although he may develop into a big power hitter, you would put Kent in that spot because he is likely to have more power.

Whether you hit Martin or Nomar third is a similar question with a similar answer. I could certainly see putting Martin third, but given Nomar’s clutch hitting, as I mentioned above, you can’t complain about Nomar hitting third.

With Gonzo, he’s playing pretty darn well himself (plus, it’s always better to break up left and right-handed hitters), so having him hit fifth makes sense.

It leaves the Pierre question, because Russel could hit second and Pierre eighth. In fact, I have talked myself into this position (I did not expect to). The offense is built on our leadoff guys getting on and running like crazy, but that’s not been happening. Pierre’s stolen bases have dropped precipitously–from 12 in April to only 5 in May, and only 2 since May 21. I am not sure why that is, but it certainly is, and we need to get men on base for Nomar, and hope that Jeff Kent starts producing the way he is supposed to.

He is hitting awefully well though he has 29BB and 60K with 60 rbi’s THATS 60RBI’s and 19hr’s in 180 or so AB’s .400obp and .302 avg or so I saw his past and what was posted yesterday about him and his reaction to getting out the the Yankee’s system.I mean at what point do you say that a player won’t make it just because they haven’t yet. I mean he isn’t even on the 40 man roster and there are a few who are taking up space and not producing on the 25.Neither one of the 2 utility INF’s we have are doing anything this year where as they both produced when we needed them to.Betemit has become the PH favorite and Seanz is hitting groundballs now…Martinez isn’t hitting anything…..Tomko,Hendy and Bills in the Pen is beyond redundant.As Lastnight showed we need some people in our line up that can Hit and I just listed 5 who don’t with only 1 of them who can contribute on a regular basis.
We are no longer in first place so I get to rant now. NOT ALL ROOKIES HAVE TO BE 22 or 23…….Jones has Bashed the door down with his bat at a rate that has to have Kemp in AWE…Which 60 is the bigger stat the 60 K’s or the 60 Rbi’s?With the 60 K’s you also have to look at the 29 BB and say this guy has patience to get the 19 HR’s and 60 Rbi’s….

pat ” the bat ” burrell has been riding major pine lately due to his horrible numbers, hes losing AB’s to greg dobbs for petes sake. and ned is telling us he cant move pierre or nomar down for a few games to get some offense going. i find that offensive to a certain extent. its just a matter of time, how long who knows…..

leekfink@yahoo.com | June 6, 2007 06:50 PM “As for Nomar–I don’t know what to say. You can’t complain about the guy with the second best clutch average in baseball. That’s what you want in your number 3 hitter.”

Yes, you can complain – at best Nomar is doing HALF the job of a #3 hitter. #3 is supposed to be the best hitter, both to drive in runs and to score runs by being on base with enough extra-base hits to set the table for the 4, 5 and 6 hitters. Nomar has scored 18 (EIGHTEEN!) runs, which projects to 48 (!) for the season, which is AWFUL. Kent’s OPS was .900 just over a week ago (before slumping the last nine games or so), Gonzalez has been as good as could be hoped with the bat, and you know who hits sixth.

We’d have to talk to those that have actually seen Mitch Jones play, but I’d be willing to wager some Dodger Dogs (easternmost in quality and westernmost in flavor) that he has some pretty exploitable holes in his power swing that AAA pitchers aren’t always good enough to take advantage of. (Yes, Mitch is walking significantly more than ever before, but he still strikes out 1/3 of the time.)

If only Gonzalez hustled home a little bit, and especially if only Abreu stayed at second!

If only’s does not win ball games for you.

Once Maddux is gone and we get into their rock-solid bullpen, we really will be toast!

I’m glad I accepted ahead of time that the Dodgers will get swept in this series. The offense is just too weak, and the Padres pitching just too strong. We just have to claw back from 2.5 down, that’s all!

We took WAY too many risks in that inning. Kent got lucky in not getting thrown out going first to third on Gonzo’s single, and it was completely ridiculous for Abreu to try to stretch it to a triple. When you’re down five runs, taking the extra base makes less than zero sense (almost as foolish as Cameron just tring to steal third against Martin).

Heck, even Kent scoring on the Martin flyball was probably more aggressive than necessary (although, that is something that you should do). If you’re not going to play well, at least play smart!

Tony Gwynn was a great player and IS one heck of a person… BUT… he has got to be one of the worst color announcers in the game. He’s such a homer when it comes to analyzing a game. If he was in the least bit objective he’d be tolerable to listen to.

Kevin,
The guy who Gwynn replaced as announcer was way worse. I really believe they had the worst announcing duo in baseball before Gwynn…at least Gwynn brings some class.

I wish I could remember their old announcer’s name right now. Man, all the two of them did was root for the Padres all game long, including yelling when something bad happened like they were just two fans. Gwynn’s not much better, but he’s better.

I really badly hope when the Padres come to the Ravine we throw at them Schmidt, Penny and Lowe and they’re coming off a horrible road trip. This team looks lost at the plate and continue to make bad decisions (swinging at the first pitch, swinging 2 and 0 at letter high fastballs that have take written all over it.) Pierre needs a demotion, a benching, brain surgery, anything. But he’s not alone this team seriously needs a HUGE kick in the preverbial backside. Whether it’s firing Eddie Murray or changing the lineup they need to know that this effort is unacceptable. I’m fired up! And tomorrow is a loss, barring a freaking miracle of epic proportions. I love this team win or lose and I’ll be there Friday cheering them on. I’ll even be a ****** and watch them tomorrow night hoping they bash Peavy’s brains in, but this is unacceptable. I hate the Padres!

Well its good to see Kent didn’t phone it in tonight and is officially out his slump. JP tried to do his Job in the 8th and make an out but when he didn’t I’m glad to see Furcal had his back and made the last out…..Pathetic but I expected it both nights except for the great effort lastnight still expected no bats to show in force.I Missed the first DP martin grounded into to erase Kent while working on dinner so in the 3rd with Wolf making the 3rd out thought it was a perfect game going my bad…

Alex until we landed in SD it was a Good road trip… However point well taken 10day 10game final 3 away.I pointed this offence out in ST and was told sooo many times to check my calender….well its June and while we have fared better then I expected from it the pitching has been worse then expected and hitting is only as good as the opps pitching is bad.Great pitching against us is our greatest downfall as expected. Our pitching is only great against weak to mediocre hitting teams. The hardest teams for us are the strong Pitching teams no matter there offence.That RS stat is out the window when we score 10 runs against bad pitching and 0 against good thats still 5 runs a game and its a split if we win 10-0 and lose 0-1.After outscoring the opps 10-1….Bocachica who was hitting worse then some of our RP and Blum were the Heros tonight….I Really Really Hate the Padres alot more then any other team including SF NYY and StL. We they all chanting for Treavor ‘We Are ***’?

Tonight the two team leaders increased their totals, KENT got his 9th HR and MARTIN got his 40th RBI I thought Abreu had one, but it seems instead of knocking a run in, it looks like he knocked a run out. Well, it’s one more and then it’s home. Just got to keep playing hard. GO DODGERS!

JP Needs to Leave…and he’s the least of our hitting problems….Nomar is Nomore and Furcal is slumping yet again… Martin is Taxed out Gonzo Can’t run FS and we don’t Have a 3rd base coach who can do anything less then cost runs year after year….I am soo sick of the most important Coaching role getting it wrong almost anytime it matters.Rich Donally has cost this team more runs and has hurt the team in sooo many ways over the last year and a half.He has no feel for any play and cannot communicate to the players if he does.Then while on the subjust of coaches we have to bring up Murray… Production is not producing…. Honeycutt???Does he walk out and ask Martin whats up then relay it back to the pitcher?Seems Martin does more to get a pitcher back on his game then he does.Then… JESUS CHRIST… Mariano Duncan…. well he actually does something and gets some results….Then while we talk about coaches ya can’t forget about Forrest he tells JP run JP run….But if the players play well for him that’s a good thing….But Donally cost us games lastyear and I’m not saying that this one was lost by him however a Run was definatly lost at 3rd and in that situation Abreu should have been stopped.

hmm of the 25 man team we have…what could we do to be in the game against Jake Peavy?Pitch Bills? And Send JP on a Drive by on the SD Pitching staff with Martinez and Saenz have it go bad and Sign some new players and or bring some up before the 7:05 ST? We Don’t have anything to Throw at anyone this year to make a differance except our depth and they are not here nor have been traded to get any impact player…That line is old and we don’t have any secret weapons on this team…

Kemp needs to play every day. Billingsley needs to be in the rotation. Bombko needs to be DFA. Hendrickson and Betemit need to be traded. James Loney should be on the big club playing at least 3 or 4 times a week giving Nomar and Gonzo/Ethier some days off. Actaully BNomar just needs to go on the DL for 15 days. Eddie Murry needs to be fired…

Tony Jackson:

“There is a reason why the Indians dumped Eddie at midseason a few years ago, and it’s time the Dodgers considered doing it, too. It’s not like they don’t have alternatives. Bill Robinson is their roving minor-league guy. He also was the hitting coach for the 2003 World Series champion Marlins (for whom Juan Pierre was the leadoff man). And Mike Easler is the hitting coach at Triple-A Las Vegas, VERY popular with the players. I can’t say this definitively, but I have heard many, many whispers that Eddie Murray is NOT popular with the players. At any rate, I can’t get anybody in the organization to tell me, on or off the record, that this is even an issue right now. But I would be shocked if it doesn’t become an issue soon, especially if this team doesn’t get any better offensively.”

Marlon Anderson: “I’ll be back before 20 days.” PLEASE hurry back Marlon – Betemit is KILLING us! If he got on base tonight instead of striking out looking (again), Abreu would have scored on Furcal’s fly ball to right. Betemit is STILL our “Designated Out”. He has 29 strike outs in his 91 at bats this season, or roughly once every three at bats. Hey Wilson – It’s not good when your weight is higher than your batting average.

Grady Little (regarding Juan Pierre): “Anyone’s job at the top of the lineup is to get on base and score runs. He knows he’s been better in the past and needs to be better now. He was out here early trying to make it better…” (Man, listening to Grady is like listening to Yogi Berra. ” I didn’t really say everything I said “). And did getting there early help Juan Pierre? He went 1 for 4 tonight (which should have been 0 for 4, as his hit should have been ruled an error), which now puts him at 1 for 8, on base ONCE, with ZERO runs scored in San Diego. Oh, that reminds me – What can you get for $44 million? http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b341/socalteams/Yo.jpg

I sure wish our guys would think and look change-up from Trevor Hoffman. If they did, they would hit the ******* ball to Tijuana! I’d like to take their stupid bells and their “Off Speed Kills” signs and shove them… well… you know.

It seems like everyone has us all but dead tomorrow night against Jake Peavy. Well Phooey on all of them! Come on boys – CRUSH HIM!

ist thank you that some of you have noticed that I haven’t posted much this year, it is because if some of the contents of our posters.
2nd for those of us who have posted last year, I do belive

that a friendship starts,and that we all have our thoughts ,

they may be different , but we don’t need to bash each other or look for verbal fights, friends don’t do that.

3 wish we had the draft contest this year, it was fun last year. I dont think we will draft laporta, a scott borass (opps) agent.

but look for more pitching on top three picks , hope for josh smokers, nevin riffith, and danny duffin(lompoc)

man from china I havent been to Lompoc sine 2001 when my father died, it has changd alot since I played for the Lompoc High Braves (one at bat) I graduated in 1968. played 2nd/3b we had two future 1 round picks on that team roy howell 3b, and roy thomas rhp, plus dave stegman a catcher who was also drafted

I enjoy the chat please let it keep going.

I also think we need to bring up Kemp and Loney relaese Martinez, and clark. our younger players are carrying us the future is now

My son Darren is geting married this sat in Ashland Oregon, the most beautiful city in the world, if you are in ashland around noon at the lithia springs motel stop by and say hi

gee Max is That the Bobmko who struckout 4 in 2 inns tonight?…..
Ok Max I…Agree and said it too about Murray….we Have Common ground but That as well as Donally has been a blaring issue for Quite awhile.While I have defended bashing JP ON A DAILY basis I know and see his problems.Murray could be one problem to solve and correct several more in the process.I was not an A student But with Good teachers I was an excellent student.With Bad Teachers I was a C student at best often dropping the class to excel in another.Odalis Perez was DFA’d Last year he definatly needed to go because his Personna offended many and his performance was even worse.Tomko is not a disliked person and can perform sometimes. He has some trade value to a team in desperate need.Kemp is not the one lighting it up in Vegas…and I have stated who is so I’ll move on not to bore anyone….Bills I have to feel deep down in my heart is on his way to the rotation.

Odalis wasn’t DFAed he was traded to KC. Also, seriously people, Mitch Jones is not the answer. Anyone given any though that the competition he’s playing against is much younger and that might be why he has done well? Same goes for Bigbie’s success down there.

Batting Pierre 8th is a start but the lineup still has the same personnel and Pierre isn’t the only one who has been failing. That being said, try a new lineup and see if it helps.

I suppose maybe jones could do something, but clearly there’s a reason why he’s, what, 30 years old and in the minors. Even if they wanted to call him up who goes down? Marlon is supposed to be back soon and who even knows how we will make room for him. Its unfourtunate for Jones because there might be room for him on other teams.

^^^^^^I made some mythical suggestions earlier on moving Baggage a way to get him on the 40 man roster Martinez,Tomko,Hendy,Saenz,Betemit….JP,Loney,DJ,Kuo,Maybe LaRoche but that is part of a 3B trade. Alot could be moved from the 40 man Roster and most are not producing or won’t make it here.

Most of why is that he wasn’t happy in the Yanks system and frankley wasn’t really doing alot.He is doing alot now and he came here in hopes of getting a shot at the show.He is producing sick run support Great Power and an over .400 obp.He Has more extra base hits then anyone on our big club and with only 180 or so ab’s.

Now out of this Payscale who is Earning their keep and at what pace to the rest? I’m good in Math But I’m not a ‘Stats’ guy. You guys do the math and take your best shots.My Opinions are Bills,Ethier,MartinX20,JB,Seanez,Beimel,SaitoX4,GonzoX.75,Wolf,Penny,NomarX.5,Lowe,KentX.75,FurcalX.66,and schmidt so far this yearX.25 but lastgame was great and if he can keep on losing 0-1 then I say he drops to X.01…Kidding but there are alot of holes left in the line up and alot of Money being wasted here.

It’s good to see. Martin LAD among the NL BATTING LEADERS this morning, in the NY Daily News. This will help his All-Star status. He’s not to far behind in the RBI department either. It’s tough to lose these games, right now,but, we’ll get them back, when we play them again in LA. KEEP THE FAITH,FANS.

We have a great pitching staff , but this team stinks. The best players are the young players ,even with rookie mistakes at least they contribute. To shake things up they should get rid of most of these vets, and bring up the other kids, they just might surprise and win. The way it is now is pathetic, we can’t beat any of the better teams and I doubt we’ll make the playoffs if things continue status quo.

It’s also good to see Little finally talking about shaking up the lineup. We’ve been talking about it for a while, of course, but the offense is reaching a tipping point and something needs to be done. You have to assume that means at least 1 or 2 things among these will happen:

1. Pierre drops to 7th/8th

2. Martin moves to 2nd or 3rd

3. Nomar moves to 5th or 6th

4. Abreu moves to 2nd

I see Kent staying in the 4 hole, esp. since he has the most homers this season, and it’s probably that Gonzo will continue to bat 5th to put a lefty after Kent.

Heck, if 1 of the things I listed happens for tonight’s game, I’ll be happy about it. We’ll see if Little has actually had enough or if he has another game or two of patience in him…let’s hope not.

fisher928 – Thanks for taking the time to put the salary roster together. It sure is interesting that some of the guys doing the most are paid the least – and vice versa.

I’m not sure exactly how soon the Dodgers are allowed to offer contracts to those whom they hold the minor league contracts of (if there is such a restriction), but they better lock down Russell Martin to a lengthy contract as soon as they possibly can (like what the Nats did for Zimmerman and the Phillies did for Howard).

Nomar hits best with runners in scoring position, yet the three batters ahead of him is the pitcher, the auto-out, and Furcal, who seems to be dipping again. That is not good. After these four, the three hitters who do hit a little line up: Kent, Gonzo and Martin. Usually with very little on the bags and very little to drive in. It is sad 🙂

fisher928 makes a very good point – the Runs Scored stat is misleading – blowouts against bad pitchers, etc. Better to watch the game daily and get a feel for what the team actually does.

I also think that Mr 3rd base coach could be a bit better. Outs at third or at home isn’t good.

I’d also like to see Eddie Murray gone, although I realize that the team would probably rather lose this season than send him on his way, and although I’m not sure how much influence the guy really has over some of the veterans who pretty much seem to do as they want, including demanding that they stay in the lineup. Young players are the only ones losing their jobs when things go bad. Bill Robinson sounds like a good alternative.

fliegel – the team as it stands now will NOT come close to the playoffs, mark my words. Like I have said a day or two ago, this team is headed on a gentle slide to .500 or worse. The Padres and Snakes have steadily gained on us over the past five or so weeks, and now they’re overtaking us and headed into Playoff Land while we’re stuck in the mud with unproductive veterans.

I am prepared to grovel as needed if I’m proven wrong on the above paragraph, of course 😉 Last year we had the good fortune to have some of the veterans hurt for stretches so we could play younger guys who helped carry the team for stretches. This year Stan is doing a marvelous job of keeping the team healthy. Sadly, the older players aren’t doing a marverlous job of playing.

I hope Kent has broken out of his slump and I hope all my worries are proven unfounded, but I’ve resigned myself to this team having a nasty, nasty June. We’re playing the AL teams that we can’t beat anyway, we’re playing the Mets, we’re playing Arizona and SD too. Here’s our schedule for the rest of the month, and all of these teams can and probably will beat the team as it stands soundly:

Toronto

Mets

Angels

Toronto ( away )

Tampa Bay ( away )

Snakes ( away )

San Diego ( at home )

That’s tough times a-comin’. Brace yourselves. I sadly predict a losing June – and not a losing June by just one or two games, either. A losing June by a lot. Our Runs Scored stat will probably also fall in line a little more after a month of not having weak teams to beat up on.

Griffon,
That’s a sobering thought, but I can’t disagree with you. I hope that management wakes up and shakes things up to the extent that this may help. It would also be a good time to bring up a couple of our young guys like Kemp and Loney and insist that they get some playing time at the expense of the veterans. For my money it would also now be time to cut ties with people like Martinez and Clark and deal off Tomko and Betemit if possible. Some coaching changes might seem like fluff, but Donnelly and Murray should be replaced, and if management is serious about improvement, the time is now.

I agree with you to the man puppyhead01, however, the key word in Grady’s quote is “may”, as in “We may have to do some juggling.”

As much as I like and respect Grady Little, it seems that he sometimes needs to be hit upside the head with a 2 by 4 before he changes his “may” to “will” (i.e. finally taking Betemit out of the line-up). Hopefully, that 2 by 4 is the three total runs that we have scored against the Padres in over 30 innings.

If I read you right, I believe that this is what you, I, and many others have in mind:

Furcal

Abreu

Martin

Kent

Gonzalez

Nomar

Ethier/Pierre

Pierre/Ethier

I prefer Ethier in the number 7 hole, as he would be more likely to see a FEW better pitches than if he were hitting in front of the pitcher. With Pierre, who cares? He doesn’t know how to wait for a good pitch anyway.

Kudos to Trevor Hoffman on number 500 ***** him! – Why couldn’t he have waited until we left town?).

My sorry prediction holds true only if the team stays as it is. Roster moves ( not lineup shuffles ) stand every chance to improve our fortunes. Maybe we should trade Tomko and Hendrickson for Gagne 😉 No, I jest, firstly because it is a lopside trade and secondly because it is not in the pitching department that we struggle most!

Fansince53,

Absolutely, Grady said “may”, and that’s what makes me think it is unlikely that we’ll see any change. As stated before by other posters, a shuffle won’t do a whole lot of good – we need a change or two, and hopefully management won’t wait until we are in the hole to start making some. It is easier to pull ahead from parity than it is to first dig out of a hole!

Today is June 7th and we’re 10 games above 500. Last night was bad and Yes I too feel Ned & Grady need to make some changes. I don’t think we’re going to see dramatic changes until the trading dead line. And I don’t think Ned is going to diminish the value of what he has to trade between now and then by giving up on them publicly. It’s still a business and the rule of thumb is to bolster the assets you have / want to sell so you get the best return on the dollar / player !!! Grady’s hands are tied. Ned’s dealing with long term which carries a lot more weight then Grady’s issues dealing with the day to day. As long as Grady can keep us close, it’ll be up to Ned to make the changes everyone is looking for.

I wonder how McCourt will feel when his stadium is empty in September if the Dodgers fall out of the race? I hope that does not happen , but unless changes are made and made soon it could become reality. Months ago I questioned Eddie Murray’s coaching, and it might be one of the problems we have.

im glad grady and ned are realizing Jp is an absolute killer at the top of our lineup this move alone could work wonders. coupled with nomar’s slight resurgance( double last night ), we could see some results.

Well i must tell you guys that i had to walk away from the tv last night after like the 4 inning. (i had a church function to attend but for the most part i was glad to leave) It hurts to see us struggle because i know this team can win and win big, i mean this club was projected to go to the World Series and win in it some cases by those who write the stories we read everyday in the media. It pains me to see that our top guys arent producing and we are still stuck in a funk. Hopefully last night was the last straw for Grady but i must ask, How is it that you think that Pierre would be the one to leave the top? (i would not mind it at all i would rather him be in the 8 spot) but come on lets not forget a certain slugger named Furcal who is struggling immensly in that catagorey:
Career SLG%.412 (with a .445 and .429 the last 2 years)

Current SLG% a meesly .361 (his lowest its been in the last 7 years)

Now i know he has been nursing that ankle but maybe he needs to rest a little more rest to get back to 100%. I dont know i love the guy but what good is he at the top if he cant produce either?! Nomar finally showed he can still swing the bat at least but i just hope that didnt put Grady into a “i think he’s on his way back” attitude i mean who knows maybe a demotion in the line-up might light a fire under some of these guys! I just feel all gross right now thinking we have to win against Peavy to avoid getting swept! I know we have the talent to do it so lets get it done! GO DODGERS!!!

Like all of you (I assume), I voted for Russell Martin the maximum number of times allowed on the All Star ballot (along with the other Dodger on the ballot, well, except for two of them). I did this over three weeks ago.

Today, just for giggles, I tried voting again using the same e-mail address AND IT LET ME VOTE 25 MORE TIMES! (I didn’t even waste time with the AL ballot). I am going to try it again with my other e-mail addresses.

PLEASE give it a try. Russell Martin NEEDS to be the starting catcher for the All Star game. He has earned it and it is entirely up to us to get him there.

Cabrera would be nice, but I agree that in any major trade Pierre needs to be gone. I would also like to see Martinez and Clark gone from the team. Let’s face it, they’re not going to contribute anything this year from what they’ve already shown us. Having Kemp here would be a good replacement for Clark, provided we actually play him one day a week for DaGonz, one for Pierre (until he’s gone), and one for Ethier to rest Ethier.

If you guys want an inside solution like max powers proposed, their is and I would like to see the team get better from the young talent that they have. But, they young talent we have is not goin to solve the power bat that we need to compete with are Rivals. Milwaukee, Mets, Giants, ect. When we think of these teams we can pick out the power bats that they have which makes them such dangerous teams.

But I agree about making our team the best from what we have. Miguel Cabrera is young, lets just pick him up because we need the the power now!!! As good as our pitching staff is, we wont make it unless we score runs.

It is amazing how much complaining we do with a 110 Million dollar payroll. The worse of it is that we used to have an excuse (fox era and no farm system) now we just have Coletti who has created no roster flexibilty and not utilized our farm system (via trade or playing them, I prefer playing them as the first place D-backs are doing). If they stick with this team the rest of the year we miss the playoffs for sure.

With as dark as the past two games have been, I just found a small glimmer of sunshine.

The Giants keep losing and are in last place.

Although the last two games have been disappointing, it’s not as if the Dodgers haven’t been winning of late. They’re 9-6 since that atrocious Angels series, with 9 of those 15 on the road. I know it’s not great. I’m not saying I’m satisfied. But the only reason the Pads and D-Backs are ahead is because they’re on fire – they are both 12-3 the past 15 games. Plus, they’ve each only had 6 of the last 15 on the road compared to the Dodgers’ 9.

As we all know, things average out over the long season. SD and ARI will not be this hot for probably even another two weeks; the arguments could be made that the D-backs have too many inexperienced kids and one very old starting pitcher; and if the Pads lose half as many pitchers to injury as the Ds have this year, I doubt their depth would cover it up as nicely as the Ds’ has.

I know. I’m optimistic. I’m not saying things are ideal, and I’d love to see a trade for a 3b SOON and Kemp up on the big club. But even if those things don’t happen right away, this club isn’t doomed as so many of you are predicting after losing 2 games to the Pads. During the 9-6 stretch, their 1, 2, 3, and 4 hitters have been severely slumping. Let’s say the lineup’s shuffled, or even 2 of those 4 start producing again (say, Kent and Furcal) – that could easily be a quick fix for the recent offensive woes.

My whole point with this rambling post is just to say that the season is not destined for failure because of a rocky stretch of games. Especially since a few roster changes are inevitable, and we probably don’t really have to worry for too many weeks about having the same starting 9 as recently.

this is my first post ! i have been reading the post’s here for two years now and have decided to jump in the pool ..i hate the padres even more than the midgets. i bleed dodger blue on every loss for sure. i have to believe that everyone –most everyone that posts her is sharp and knowedgeable and loves our dodgers!!! i am just so upset that the organization has done nothing about the obvious shortcomings of our team!! i have kept pen under wraps till now … what does management see that us fans don’t???? why not give the kids a chance especially in centerfield!! can kemp be any worst at the plate or in the field ??? and bomko and seanez -do we feel confident when they are in a tough situation??
and about tonite, peavey vs the blue is so one sided –he lives to beat us… he seems to be in another zone when he pitches against us… as do all the padres. they live in our shadow and want to be us !! also our schedule is really tough this month. as we play some tough teams and the pads don’t …

thx 53 and Graf but that post is pure plagerism.espn has all the teams payrolls under the Salaries link. Graf Clark makes 3.9M but we are not paying it. I think we are only giving him 350K something like that.

I can’t believe the tone of the posts here today. Are you guys all serious??? This is baseball not football meaning no games are predictable and no pitcher (Peavy) is unbeatable. Look our line-up has been relatively the same all year and if I’m not mistaken, we’ve beaten the Padres this year with this line-up. For all we know, the Dodgers are gonna knock Peavy all over the park today. We are 10 games above .500 and lose 2 in a row in an otherwise succesful road trip and all the sudden our team is in the tank? Whats that all about? The Padres dominated us last year and guess what… we still made the playoffs. Baseball is a game of streaks and everytime a team takes 2 steps forward, they will inevitably take 1 step back. So enough with the whole sky is falling stuff and tip your hat to both Young and Maddux because they both pitched really well. Let’s hope Kuo can keep us in it for the 1st 5 and that Bills can shut em down after that. My prediction for tonight, 5-4 Dodgers.

It is very interesting to read about & contemplate all of the remarks that suggest ways to make our team better… God knows some changes could probably help…..

But, I was thinking along the lines of —- How enjoyable & entertaining it would be to watch the games when it consisted of a lineup of all our young players…. Martin, Abreu, Ethier, Kemp, Loney, LaRoche, & possibly some others…

I honestly feel it would be much more entertaining because of the excitment & eagerness they would bring to the game each day…

I, like a lot of you, am really tired of watching these old dogs with their big salaries playing day after day after day…

Plus, who knows, just maybe it would also improve the team….. Entertaining & Good.. Wouldn’t that be great???

just a blind swing at the pinata eh griffon64. i like that to a certain extent. we have a good shot charris no doubt, my man kuo is gonna be sitting friars down right with peavy. lets just hope we can ” scratch ” a couple on the board. i love how every game JP plays we have to scratch runs. thats funny. im laughing to myelf as im typing.

22nd in slugging %. (Dodgers 28th; Pads also lead the Dodgers in 2b, 3b, HR accordingly)

My analysis: the Padres hit the ball harder. The Dodgers hit the ball way more often. The Padres strikeout more. The Dodgers get on base more.

Now, the Dodgers’ batting stats certainly aren’t amazing, but they are much more of an average-to-good offense thus far, whereas the Padres are much worse in most categories. If we can score 3-4 runs off Peavy and the Pads’ pen (remember, we’ve actually done a lot of scoring off their ‘pen earlier this season), I think Kuo, Bills, et al can win this game.

Yeah, that prediction is made assuming that the lineup pretty much stays at its current production level – meaning Pierre-Furcal produces more 1-for-8 nights than they do 4-8 ones, Nomar mostly hits only with runners on and doesn’t hit bombs, Kent more or less slumps, Gonzo is steady-not-brilliant, Martin hits well, Abreu does well but doesn’t really walk, and Ethier does a steady job and brings a good arm to right field. And of course assuming the pitching staff continue the good work!

Chances are that none of that will stay as is. It is basically my way of saying I fear a nasty June if everything stays as it is. Fortunately, in baseball nothing seems to stay the same way for long. Sadly, that meant that we drop our early nice lead during May. Hopefully we don’t drop our above .500 record during June!

I also see Kuo staying with Peavy to some extent – it will be up to the lineups to produce, and ours have been hiccuping a bit of late. Time to turn that around.

I wonder what the May trends was for both teams’ lineups – the Dodgers have been trending down a bit and the Padres have been trending up, of late.

Nice numbers puppyhead, I totally agree with your assessment and yes grafitti I think Kuo will step up tonight and deliver. GO DODGERS, I know I’ve mentioned this before but the Pads have been our true rivals over the 5+ years, if anybody disagrees with that, I ask that you go down to Petco, watch the game in your Dodger gear and listen to the genuine distain that the Pad fans have for the blue crew. San Fran maybe our historical rivals but not lately (with the exception of ’02).

Welcome to the jungle trojan7500. As you have seen, it can get a little intense in here from time to time, but the bottom line is that we are all family and love the Dodgers (but not in a man-crush way – LOL).

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